This is a place for members of Home of the Brave to post thoughts, insights, and opinions about events related to the investigation of non-combat deaths of US soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen.

Monday, February 04, 2008

Military Sexual Predator Shipped to Phoenix Area for 2 years Without Accountability

What do Zero Tolerance and Undue Command Influence Have in Common?

They were supposed to be the military’s answer once again to another sexual abuse scandal within the services. There have been over 22 Congressional Task Forces without significant change to any genuine and real policies to dramatically decrease sexual predator lack of accountability in the US military services.

Dimly in the shadow of the Lauterbach case, this young raped female Marine who became pregnant from her rape, faced down Marine leadership and gang mob mentality demanded her rapist be held accountable as the leadership said, “her rape was not violent.”

Maria Lauterbach and her 8 month (in womb) son was brutally murdered. One would hope the military and government has NOW gotten it, and stop going after the courageous victims who stand up and speak out! That the military gets these victims are pin pointing what they can’t do, point out the abusers. But, that is not so, the US Air Force in an attempt to have little press coverage of a sexual predator among their ranks, and who they simply shipped across country without accountability is beginning a trial under the cover of the Super Bowl in Phoenix, Arizona at Luke Air Force Base the week of Feb 6th.

This case deals with an Air Force married recruiter Sgt Deveau who while in Maine allegedly sexually groomed and manipulated multiple young recruitees, and personnel ignoring other military policies for his own gratification.

One wonders if the Air Force failed Sgt Deveau or IF Sgt Deveau failed the Air Force by not living up to the policies of the Aberdeen Proving Ground Rape Scandal in which Recruiters of Recruits wrongfully used of chain of command power of Undue Command Influence to prey upon young recruits sexually. Using duress and coercion Deveau of his authority knowing the less then lackluster prosecution record of the US military for sexual abuse crimes, decided his own sexual exploits were far more important then following any current military policy previously on the books.

Sgt Deveau’s abuses while in Maine of untold young women has resulted in bringing 2 to 3 young women in as witnesses, the tracking down of many other victims for testimony have been determined to be irrelevant by the Air Force.

As Deveau kept abusing Maine’s daughters in the style of the military services—the Air Force transferred Sgt Deveau to Luke Air Force Base without warning to Arizona citizens.

As one of the victims spoke out, she was treated abusively in the military time and again, but refusing to back down and she is forcing the trial the Air Force doesn’t want to occur.

Instead the Air Force is systematically going after the women victims set to testify by bringing in hostile witnesses. At this time it is not known if the Air Force prosecutors will bring authentic expert witnesses on behalf of the victim to counter the attacks of the hostile witnesses. It remains a systemic problem that the military goes after victims rather then predators who continue to groom to abuse. It appears time and again, the government and military selective prosecution of predators and they still refuse to honor their own military policies such as Zero Tolerance and Undue Command Influence that put only one of dozens of Army predators in prison for 25 years.

The two witnesses are set to testify had have already suffered re-traumatization from ongoing harassment by the military legal counsels in questioning and in bringing hostile witnesses against them.

We are asking for press to help in bringing a leveling playing field to this situation by demonstrating an interest in this case. If you want to really know what Lauterbach and all military survivors go through after reporting these crimes - look into this case.

We need your help to be supportive of these young women, and hold fully accountable the alleged sexual predator Sgt Deveau and the leadership that allows the gang mob mentality to take over.

Please contact me if interested in this case. I will put you in contact with the families. They have been financially ruined due to these issues.

Rev. Dorothy Mackey Executive Director of STAAAMP, Survivors Take Action Against Abuse by Military Personnel, contact

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Our Loved Ones

Families

"I told them, 'Hey, if you don't want to deal with mourning families, then recruit orphans."

Peggy Buryj

"After the truth of Pat's death was partially revealed, Pat was no longer of use as a sales asset, and became strictly the Army's problem. They were now left with the task of briefing our family and answering our questions. With any luck, our family would sink quietly into our grief, and the whole unsavory episode would be swept under the rug. However, they miscalculated our family's reaction."Kevin Tillman

"...our treatment by the country for which our loved ones gave their lives has added another dimension of grief and difficulty. Having one another gives us the encouragement to continue."

Joan L. Piper

"The greatest disappointment, is in our country whose leaders plainly have an agenda that values the establishment over the individual, form over fact, expedience over truth. All of us morn the loss of our loved ones, but we also morn the loss of respect that we all have had for our country."

Dr. John Sabow

"I will review these records to identify what led to [Phillip's] murder and the acquittal of his murderer," Esposito said Friday. "In fighting for justice for Phillip, my daughter and myself, I also fight for justice for all officers and servicemembers. No other family should have to suffer as we have." Siobhan Esposito

Historical Fact

"Of the more than 274,000 officers and men who served in the army during the Spanish-American War and the period of demobilization, 5,462 died in the various theaters of operation and in camps in the a U.S. Only 379 of the deaths were battle casualties, the remainder being attributed to disease and other causes."

Source: Encyclopedia of American History by Richard Morris

In 1898, thousands of soldiers got food poisoning from meat packed by Armour and Company and sold to the Army. There are no figures on how many of the five thousand noncombat deaths were caused by this.

The Oxford Companion to American Military History estimates that between 2 percent and 25 percent of the casualties in America's wars are attributable to friendly fire.